Russian Nature Vocabulary — Words for the Natural World
Nature words are a wonderful place to start Russian: they're concrete, they come up often, and they give you an early reason to read the Cyrillic alphabet. This page collects Russian vocabulary for the natural world — лес (forest), река (river), солнце (sun), дерево (tree) — each paired with its English meaning and audio. Two notes for English speakers. First, Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which looks daunting but is learnable in days; a few letters are false friends (р is "r", с is "s"), and the rest soon click. Second, Russian stress is mobile and unmarked in normal writing — it can fall on any syllable and it changes the vowel sounds, so you genuinely cannot tell from the spelling alone where the emphasis goes. That makes the audio essential: tap any 🔊 to hear exactly where the stress lands. Read the list to start decoding the letters, then take the words into the game below, where seeing, hearing and matching them turns Cyrillic from a puzzle into reading.
Key words explained
- dog собака Their dog barks at every passing car.
- cat кошка The cat curled up on the warm windowsill.
- bird птица A small bird built its nest in the hedge.
- horse лошадь She rode the horse along the quiet trail.
- cow корова A cow grazed lazily in the green field.
- sheep овца The farmer counted his sheep at dusk.
- pig свинья The pig rolled happily in the cool mud.
- rabbit кролик A wild rabbit darted across the path.
All 150 Russian nature words
| English | Pronunciation | Russian | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| dog | /dɔːɡ/ | собака | |
| cat | /kæt/ | кошка | |
| bird | /bɜːrd/ | птица | |
| horse | /hɔːrs/ | лошадь | |
| cow | /kaʊ/ | корова | |
| sheep | /ʃiːp/ | овца | |
| pig | /pɪɡ/ | свинья | |
| rabbit | /ˈræbɪt/ | кролик | |
| lion | /ˈlaɪən/ | лев | |
| bear | /bɛr/ | медведь | |
| tiger | /ˈtaɪɡər/ | тигр | |
| elephant | /ˈɛlɪfənt/ | слон | |
| snake | /sneɪk/ | змея | |
| butterfly | /ˈbʌtərflaɪ/ | бабочка | |
| bee | /biː/ | пчела | |
| tree | /triː/ | дерево | |
| flower | /ˈflaʊər/ | цветок | |
| grass | /ɡræs/ | трава | |
| leaf | /liːf/ | лист | |
| sun | /sʌn/ | солнце | |
| rain | /reɪn/ | дождь | |
| cloud | /klaʊd/ | облако | |
| wind | /wɪnd/ | ветер | |
| snow | /snoʊ/ | снег | |
| fire | /ˈfaɪər/ | огонь | |
| sky | /skaɪ/ | небо | |
| mountain | /ˈmaʊntən/ | гора | |
| river | /ˈrɪvər/ | река | |
| sea | /siː/ | море | |
| forest | /ˈfɔːrɪst/ | лес | |
| wolf | /wʊlf/ | волк | |
| fox | /fɑːks/ | лиса | |
| deer | /dɪr/ | олень | |
| monkey | /ˈmʌŋki/ | обезьяна | |
| duck | /dʌk/ | утка | |
| frog | /frɑːɡ/ | лягушка | |
| eagle | /ˈiːɡəl/ | орёл | |
| ant | /ænt/ | муравей | |
| spider | /ˈspaɪdər/ | паук | |
| whale | /weɪl/ | кит | |
| dolphin | /ˈdɑːlfɪn/ | дельфин | |
| turtle | /ˈtɜːrtəl/ | черепаха | |
| squirrel | /ˈskwɜːrəl/ | белка | |
| penguin | /ˈpɛŋɡwɪn/ | пингвин | |
| giraffe | /dʒɪˈræf/ | жираф | |
| lake | /leɪk/ | озеро | |
| ocean | /ˈoʊʃən/ | океан | |
| beach | /biːtʃ/ | пляж | |
| island | /ˈaɪlənd/ | остров | |
| desert | /ˈdɛzərt/ | пустыня | |
| rock | /rɑːk/ | скала | |
| sand | /sænd/ | песок | |
| ice | /aɪs/ | лёд | |
| moon | /muːn/ | луна | |
| star | /stɑːr/ | звезда | |
| storm | /stɔːrm/ | шторм | |
| rainbow | /ˈreɪnboʊ/ | радуга | |
| seed | /siːd/ | семя | |
| soil | /sɔɪl/ | почва | |
| garden | /ˈɡɑːrdən/ | сад | |
| fog | /fɑːɡ/ | туман | |
| thunder | /ˈθʌndər/ | гром | |
| lightning | /ˈlaɪtnɪŋ/ | молния | |
| flood | /flʌd/ | наводнение | |
| spring | /sprɪŋ/ | весна | |
| summer | /ˈsʌmər/ | лето | |
| autumn | /ˈɔːtəm/ | осень | |
| winter | /ˈwɪntər/ | зима | |
| branch | /bræntʃ/ | ветка | |
| root | /ruːt/ | корень | |
| mushroom | /ˈmʌʃruːm/ | гриб | |
| nest | /nɛst/ | гнездо | |
| wing | /wɪŋ/ | крыло | |
| tail | /teɪl/ | хвост | |
| fur | /fɜːr/ | мех | |
| feather | /ˈfɛðər/ | перо | |
| shell | /ʃɛl/ | ракушка | |
| hill | /hɪl/ | холм | |
| valley | /ˈvæli/ | долина | |
| cave | /keɪv/ | пещера | |
| waterfall | /ˈwɔːtərfɔːl/ | водопад | |
| pond | /pɑːnd/ | пруд | |
| rose | /roʊz/ | роза | |
| cactus | /ˈkæktəs/ | кактус | |
| cub | /kʌb/ | детёныш | |
| bat | /bæt/ | летучая мышь | |
| rat | /ræt/ | крыса | |
| crow | /kroʊ/ | ворона | |
| owl | /aʊl/ | сова | |
| jungle | /ˈdʒʌŋɡəl/ | джунгли | |
| zebra | /ˈziːbrə/ | зебра | |
| crocodile | /ˈkrɑːkədaɪl/ | крокодил | |
| shark | /ʃɑːrk/ | акула | |
| gorilla | /ɡəˈrɪlə/ | горилла | |
| rhino | /ˈraɪnoʊ/ | носорог | |
| hippo | /ˈhɪpoʊ/ | бегемот | |
| camel | /ˈkæməl/ | верблюд | |
| kangaroo | /ˌkæŋɡəˈruː/ | кенгуру | |
| panda | /ˈpændə/ | панда | |
| koala | /koʊˈɑːlə/ | коала | |
| leopard | /ˈlɛpərd/ | леопард | |
| octopus | /ˈɑːktəpəs/ | осьминог | |
| claw | /klɔː/ | коготь | |
| beak | /biːk/ | клюв | |
| paw | /pɔː/ | лапа | |
| horn | /hɔːrn/ | рог | |
| cliff | /klɪf/ | скала | |
| plain | /pleɪn/ | равнина | |
| stream | /striːm/ | ручей | |
| volcano | /vɑːlˈkeɪnoʊ/ | вулкан | |
| wave | /weɪv/ | волна | |
| sunrise | /ˈsʌnraɪz/ | рассвет | |
| sunset | /ˈsʌnsɛt/ | закат | |
| palm | /pɑːm/ | пальма | |
| pine | /paɪn/ | сосна | |
| bamboo | /bæmˈbuː/ | бамбук | |
| sunflower | /ˈsʌnflaʊər/ | подсолнух | |
| wheat | /wiːt/ | пшеница | |
| mud | /mʌd/ | грязь | |
| dust | /dʌst/ | пыль | |
| seal | /siːl/ | тюлень | |
| chick | /tʃɪk/ | птенец | |
| swan | /swɑːn/ | лебедь | |
| parrot | /ˈpærət/ | попугай | |
| hedgehog | /ˈhɛdʒhɑːɡ/ | ёж | |
| lizard | /ˈlɪzərd/ | ящерица | |
| mosquito | /məˈskiːtoʊ/ | комар | |
| worm | /wɜːrm/ | червь | |
| pigeon | /ˈpɪdʒən/ | голубь | |
| donkey | /ˈdɑːŋki/ | осёл | |
| goat | /ɡoʊt/ | коза | |
| cheetah | /ˈtʃiːtə/ | гепард | |
| peacock | /ˈpiːkɑːk/ | павлин | |
| jellyfish | /ˈdʒɛlifɪʃ/ | медуза | |
| crab | /kræb/ | краб | |
| hail | /heɪl/ | град | |
| dew | /duː/ | роса | |
| drought | /draʊt/ | засуха | |
| glacier | /ˈɡleɪʃər/ | ледник | |
| swamp | /swɑːmp/ | болото | |
| trunk | /trʌŋk/ | ствол | |
| thorn | /θɔːrn/ | шип | |
| moss | /mɔːs/ | мох | |
| oak | /oʊk/ | дуб | |
| maple | /ˈmeɪpəl/ | клён | |
| tide | /taɪd/ | прилив | |
| petal | /ˈpɛtəl/ | лепесток | |
| scale | /skeɪl/ | чешуя | |
| burrow | /ˈbɜːroʊ/ | нора | |
| habitat | /ˈhæbɪtæt/ | среда обитания |
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